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Search for Texas DWI law changes and you’ll find confident headlines. Some claim a first DWI is now a Class A misdemeanor. Others say a 0.15 blood alcohol level is now a felony. Neither claim is true. The bill that proposed those changes died in a Senate committee in May 2025. Meanwhile, the changes that did pass got far less attention, and a few of them affect how DWI cases are built in Texas right now. If you’re facing a DWI, you need the law as it is, not the law someone predicted.
Senate Bill 2320 would have raised a standard first DWI from a Class B to a Class A misdemeanor and made a DWI with a 0.15 alcohol concentration a state jail felony. The bill failed to get an affirmative vote in committee on May 22, 2025. It never became law.
| What You May Have Read | What Texas Law Actually Says |
|---|---|
| A first DWI is now a Class A misdemeanor. | A standard first DWI remains a Class B misdemeanor. The bill that proposed the change never left committee. |
| A 0.15 alcohol concentration is now a felony. | A first DWI with a 0.15 or higher remains a Class A misdemeanor. |
| Deferred adjudication for DWI is a new 2025 option. | It’s been available for some first-time DWI cases since 2019. A completed deferral still counts as a prior if you’re charged with a second DWI, and it leads to nondisclosure, not expunction. |
| Texas now has a legal THC limit for driving. | Texas has no per se THC limit. The State has to prove you lost the normal use of your mental or physical faculties. |
| Any DWI near a school is now a felony. | The felony applies only in a designated school crossing zone while the reduced speed limit is in effect. |
Senate Bill 826 made a DWI a state jail felony when the State shows the person was operating a vehicle in a school crossing zone while the reduced speed limit applied. It carries 180 days to two years in a state jail facility, even on a first offense.
Senate Bill 745 made intoxication manslaughter a first-degree felony when more than one person dies in the same criminal transaction. A single-death intoxication manslaughter remains a second-degree felony.
Since 2019, Texas has allowed a blood warrant in an intoxication case to be executed in a county next to the one where a magistrate signed it. Senate Bill 1886 went further. Any peace officer can now execute that warrant in the adjacent county, even an officer without arrest authority there. For a Houston arrest, that means a Harris County warrant can reach a hospital or jail in Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, or another neighboring county, and the officer who carries it out doesn’t have to be local police.
That change doesn’t make every blood draw valid. The warrant still needs probable cause, the affidavit still has to be accurate, and the draw still has to follow proper procedure.
Senate Bill 1660 changed how crime labs keep and destroy blood and urine specimens in intoxication cases. Labs must now notify the prosecutor’s office each year about the toxicological evidence they’re holding from that county. In felony cases, prosecutors can require written approval before evidence is destroyed. In misdemeanor cases, prosecutors can’t hold up destruction once the retention period expires.
This matters to you because a blood case can depend on independent retesting. Your lawyer can request the second vial, and have it tested by a lab the State doesn’t control. The retention clock doesn’t wait for your trial setting, so that request needs to go out early.
Bad information leads to bad decisions. A person who believes a first DWI now carries Class A consequences might take a plea offer out of fear. A person who believes deferred adjudication erases a DWI might accept a deal without understanding that it still counts as a prior conviction later. The law that applies to your case is the law in effect on the date of your arrest.
The 90th Legislature convenes January 12, 2027, and bills can be pre-filed starting in November 2026. Proposals like SB 2320 could return. Until one passes and takes effect, it doesn’t change your case. Watch for real bill numbers, committee votes, and effective dates, not headlines.
The law that matters is the one on the books the night of your arrest, and your defense should be built on nothing else.
If you've been arrested for DWI anywhere in the Houston area, call Denuna & Westbrook at 713-966-0253 or visit texasdwlaw.com. We’ll explain the law that applies to your arrest, request your ALR hearing before the 15-day deadline, and move to preserve your blood sample for independent testing.
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